Thanksgiving Break

Since we had a week off for Thanksgiving, and the fact that I can't stand just to stay at home and do nothing, the boys and I hopped in the car Saturday morning and headed to my parents for a few days. I had not seen my grandma since this summer and I was ready to go and spend some time with her as well as visit my parents Also, since Hurricane Harvey displaced my uncle Stinker who used to live in Port Arthur, we moved him to a nursing home in Kerrville. I have not seen him since Casen was a little over a year old, so it was past due time to see him as well.

So the boys and I spent part of a day going and visiting my grandma and Stinker. Grandma was so happy to see us and visit with the boys. Stinker was in shock how much the kiddos have grown since he saw them last. He loves how ornery Casen is and hopes Casen will take after him - let's pray not!!!! : )

The next day I went back by myself to spend some time with Grandma. Her fingernails were longer than I had ever seen them and painted a hot pink color. They were actually really beautiful and I am sad I did not get a picture of them. She says anytime someone gets new nail polish, they all get their nails painted. LOL. However, she was tired of them being long and pink so I asked that I take care of that. So I spent the afternoon giving her a manicure, looking through a box of old pictures she had in her room and reminiscing. Making precious memories with my most favorite person! Can you believe in the box was the program from her high school graduation? Too cool!

One of the things I love about taking the boys to my parents is the fact that, weather permitting, they pretty much spend the majority of the day outside just being boys and playing. I love that and hate that they aren't really able to run around the neighborhood like I did when I was a kid. This picture makes me smile because when we are there, their toys are always out by the pond. Making memories. . .

While we were at my parents, they had movie night down at the barn in the theater. We popped some popcorn, packed up some drinks and headed down and watched 'Jack Frost'. Such a fun way to start the Christmas season.

In hopes of getting some decent pictures for our Christmas card, I snapped some pics of my handsome boys. I tell you, it was not easy to get a decent pic of the two of them together. . . 

The boys and I headed back to Cypress on Tuesday since we were leaving on Wednesday to head to Lumberton to spend Thanksgiving with Shane's family. The boys spent several days playing with their cousins and having a good time.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Shanelle and I researched a lot on Wednesday and then spent most of Thanksgiving day doing a lot of our Christmas shopping from the comfort of the couch.

The boys spend time decorating some turkey and snowmen sugar cookies.

Such creativity!

When we arrived home on Friday, the boys were thrilled to see that Cooper your elf,  had made his arrival in time to celebrate the Christmas season with us.

I spent most of the day Saturday putting up the tree and setting out all the Christmas decorations. I am a bit concerned as to how the addition of a cat is going to affect my tree and all the beautiful ornaments. I am praying she does not climb the tree or knock it over - I guess only time will tell.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today was Casen's Thanksgiving feast at school and fortunately Shane was able to attend. We worked over the past weekend on making his vest to wear to the feast. Our instructions were to use symbols to describe Casen and decorate it as the Indians may have done. So after a bit of research, we chose the symbols that mean happiness (the big symbol in the middle), mountains (upper left), friendship (upper right), good (bottom left) dancer (bottom right). : )  He then chose where he wanted his feathers and beads. We gave him the Indian name 'Takoda' which means a friend to everyone - pretty much describes him perfectly!

Casen's Fall Soccer Season

Today marked the end of the Fall soccer season for Casen. While he probably should have been playing up a group due to his skill level, he had a great time and enjoyed his time on the field. I believe his team went undefeated, although at this age, they don't keep score. : )

Here are a few photos from his soccer season:

Some of Casen's cheering section.

It was always fun to watch Casen's celebrations after he scored a goal. He would either fly like an airplane or do the 'X' motion in the air like Ronaldo does. 

All smiles.

Airplane

He is proud of the medal he earned.

Now onto baseball in the Spring for Casen. . .

Veteran's Day Program

At the boys school, the choir teacher has each grade level perform a program on a particular holiday through out the year. Second grade is assigned the Veteran's Day Program and from what I understand, it is the best.

 

I was able to attend his program and even was able to pull Casen out of class so he could watch his brother participate. The program did not disappoint. It was a great tribute to our Veteran's who have served or are serving to protect this great country we live in.

Unfortunately, Camden had a girl with a big hair bow standing right in front of him, which made capturing good pictures a bit difficult. However, once I was able to get up closer I was able to get some of his sweet smile.

During the program, Mrs. Nelson had the veteran's stand during the song that the kids sang that represented the branch of the military they served in. At the end, she had each Veteran there go up to the front of the stage and they each told what branch they served in, how long they served, and who invited them to the program. It was a very touching program and like I previously said, was a great tribute to our Veterans.

Tooth #8 Gone

Today, Camden lost tooth #8, which meant another tooth chest from school. Blue, of course!

Now his smile is all evened out again, with no signs of any teeth coming in.